T is for Tarboro, T-shirts & Totes

Getting the word out is key to any endeavor. Whether you're promoting an event, a business or an entire town if folks don't know then the response is "nil".

I came up with (what I think is) an ingenious idea to promote Tarboro and all businesses in Tarboro without costing a penny.  I've set up a  shop on Cafe Press that will offer T-shirts and other merchandise to promote the town, town events and businesses in the town.  To be included, all a business has to do is provide me with a logo and I'll upload it to the online store.

A customized tote bag like the one shown here sells for $13.99 (+S & H) and a basic T-shirt goes for $14.99 (+S & H).   There are many items to choose from including hooded sweatshirts , baby clothes and coffee mugs.   It's not a money-making opportunity. The money goes to Cafe Press, but the good thing is that folks can buy your advertising "stuff" at no cost to you.  You don't need to hire a printer and pay for the stuff up front hoping to cover your costs.  There is no cost.   Ingenious , huh?

A similar idea could be used to actually raise money for an event.  We simply up the price of the merchandise and the profits from each sale will go to the event fund.

So far, the only items in the Tarboro Tees store are those that I've added, but as more people know, more people will go.  To shop now visit: www.cafepress.com/tarboro

Cooperation - as in Co-ops!

I've been thinking about organzing a food coop here in Tarboro, so the concept of cooperatives and collectives has been bouncing around in my head.

It wasn't until I needed a few last minute Christmas items and had only WalMart as an option, that a bigger concept pushed its way into my consciousness.

I must digress. WalMart is not my favorite store.  The way Walmart is run now that Sam Walton is gone is, in my mind,  a very unattractive way to do business.  In Tarboro, 10,000's of consumers come from all surrounding areas to shop WalMart .  Why do they do this?

1) Walmart has a large selection in one handy location.

2) Walmart has discount prices (on some items).

3) WalMart is the only show in town.

My wondering brain wants to know... is it possible to form a community cooperative that would provide local consumers with an alternative?  Is it possible to form a community cooperative format that could be repeated in small towns across the country?  Is it possible for the People (with a capital P) to take back some control of the economy?

It would be fantastic if an empty building in town were to be the Tarboro Community Cooperative and house a food coop, a general merchandise coop, a farmer's market, a crafts cooperative...  and more.   A cooperative gas station could provide gasoline. 

I'm going to give this a lot more thought and I hope you do, too.  In the meantime, there's an excellent publication, available in HTML online or for download in PDF form: How To Start A Food Coop.

Reshaping Tarboro with Intentional Thought

If you've been in The Unusual Shoppe in downtown Tarboro, you've probably heard my plans for the building it resides in and if you stayed long enough you may have heard my plans for Tarboro, too.

Today I will put written words to some of the ideas so that more of you can share in the vision and help it to manifest.

Imagine yourself coming through the front doors of the ReMarkable Market & Cafe at 305 North Main Street. The wonderful aromas of recently brewed coffee and freshly baked breads welcome you .   Soft music is playing and some friends and neighbors wave hello from tables where they sit enjoying a snack, a conversation or quietly reading a book.  You go to the counter and place your order.  You take your treat up the staircase to the 2nd floor lounge.  It's quiet this morning. The 2 conference size tables are empty. No meetings today. No craft classes.  No art projects.  No Monopoly marathon. One person is on one of the soft and comfy sofas, apparently deeply engrossed in the novel of the day. 

You step through the french doors onto the iron-railed balcony and select a small table over-looking Main Street.  It's a beautiful day. The sun is shining. The sky is blue. The breeze is gently rustling the leaves of the trees that line the street.  From this vantage point you can see all of downtown's Main Street, from the bridge at the river to the trees at the town common. Tarboro is beautiful and you are happy to be here.

The ReMarkable Market is not just a cafe, it is a healthy eatery, it is a music house evenings and weekends, it is a social gathering place for the community, it is a meeting house, it is home of the Tarboro Coop, it is the local marketplace for area arts and crafts , and it shares the building with The Unusual Shoppe (the largest used book and collectibles store and in eastern North Carolina). It has restored vibrancy to Tarboro's downtown, unified the community and has helped to make Tarboro a destination.

I don't yet know how it will come to be, but I know it WILL come to be. 

Join me in this vision, believe it will happen, feel grateful that it already exists as a vibrant addition to our community and then watch as it manifests.   Thoughts become things. 

Other People's Money

This morning my thoughts are on Other People's Money (OPM).  In particular, I've been thinking about OPM as a financing source to complete my envisioned improvements, to the building and to the town.

I admit I know very little about creative financing and I was definitely raised with an extreme FOD (fear of debt) but I'm willing to learn about the subject and weigh some pros and cons.

As I often do when looking for information, I searched the web.  Believe it or not, "Other People's Money" draws a lot of good results. I read a very interesting story about the life of billionare Daniel Ludwig and how he used OPM to succeed.

The story was simple and didn't go into a lot of detail, but the OPM concept was easily explained.  Ludwig would set up a deal with a person or company that had an excellent credit rating, they would agree to pay him for a job (in this case it was a tanker ship charter) in a specific payment amount for a specified period of time.  Ludwig did not own the ship to be chartered, but he would take this contract to the bank , sign the charter contract over to the bank making it that payments from the client (the reliable client with great credit rating) went directly to the bank, the bank would then give Ludwig the money needed to buy the ship.  After all the payments were made by the other company the ship belonged to Ludwig, paid in full. In this manner he built a fleet of tankers. All using Other People's Money.

Sounds simple enough.  Now, I think about the projects that I'd like to complete but do not have cash on hand to accomplish. The first that comes to mind is the renovation to the Marrow-Pitt building.   Is it possible to find someone with an excellent credit rating to sign a lease for a coffee shop/ restaurant in the front of the building and then use their agreement to lease to get funds for renovating the building?   I don't see why not.

Give me time, I'm certain I can make it happen. I'm learning every day.

Networking in a Small Town

A common comment (um... complaint?) that I hear around Tarboro is that people try to make new things happen and then very few people show their support.  This results in the assumption that 1) the idea wasn't very good or 2) nobody cares. 

As a self-proclaimed "mover and shaker", I happen to think that this assumption is a misconception. Ask around. You'll find that many people don't attend local "happenings" because they don't hear about them until AFTER the event.

There IS a problem, but the problem is with networking, getting the word out, letting people know what's going on. 

You can place an ad or a notice in The Daily Southerner (Tarboro's only newspaper) but (ask around) many people don't read that paper. Even if every issue were read, the Daily Southerner's daily circulation is approximately 3600 issues.  Tarboro is home to over 11,000 people and Edgecombe County's population is approximately 54,000.  It is quite understandable that only a small percentage of local people will respond to the ad.

So how DO we reach the people?  I have a suggestion and you are more than welcome to share your ideas and suggestions, too.

We could have a new weekly newspaper that is delivered FREE to every home in Edgecombe County and available FREE at racks around the area.  Advertisers including classified ads would pay for the publication costs.  The paper would contain community news, events, announcements from the schools, churchs, nonprofit groups, clubs, businesses, what-have-you.  It would be THE place to look when you want to know what's going on in Edgecombe County. It would also be THE place to advertise when you want everyone in Edgecombe County to know about your event. 

This is not an original idea, I must confess that during my 10 years in Vermont, I was introduced to The Message For The Week , a weekly publication that was THE source for area news and loyally read by the locals and visitors alike.

Could Edgecombe County have a weekly publication?  Sure it could!  Either with cooperation and assistance from The Daily Southerner or as a seperate entity.